


Rosember

by yodalorian



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Gen, holy fic because kmt has read it hopefully maybe, just lots of rose, rose tico month, rosember
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-14
Updated: 2020-03-14
Packaged: 2021-02-28 23:08:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,772
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23145199
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yodalorian/pseuds/yodalorian
Summary: 30 microfics about Rose Tico.
Relationships: Finn & Rose Tico, Finn/Rose Tico, Paige Tico & Rose Tico, Rey & Rose Tico
Comments: 1
Kudos: 8





	Rosember

**Author's Note:**

> written as part of the Rosember campaign on Twitter in November 2019.
> 
> actual thread: https://twitter.com/jedioncer/status/1190300391638011913

**#WheresRose** : Finn tried to push his way through the crowd, but it felt like trying to swim through Jakku's sand dunes. Cheers rang through the air, banners rippling in the wind, heralding the end of the First Order, but he didn't care about any of that right now. Where was Rose? He had lost her, the mass of people suddenly tearing them apart, and Rose had vanished into the celebration.

**Sisters** : Rose shrieked and slapped her hands over her eyes as the old mining ship groaned and rattled over the frozen mountains. Paige only laughed, still pushing the ship towards speeds it was never meant to handle. 

"Pay-Pay, no!" Rose screamed, but she couldn't stop a note of excitement creeping into her voice.

Paige pulled her sister into her lap, curling her arms around Rose. "Don't worry, Rosie," she murmured as ice-laced clouds whipped past. "You'll always be safe when I'm around, and I'll always be around." 

**Linger** : Rose still remembered their secret spot on D'Qar. A space, nestled between two boulders and behind a great tree, so well hidden that Rose believed not a single living thing had been there before them and not a single living thing would be there after them. It belonged to her and Paige, where they would hide, spend the night even, when Resistance officers became too much and the First Order struck too hard. 

That's where Rose's eyes lingered, even as the planet's surface faded from view and the  _ Raddus _ leaped into hyperspace. That's where Paige's spirit lingered when her body blazed gold in the sky. And that's where Rose's heart would linger too. 

**The seasons** : Rose's first autumn on D'Qar was terrifying. She was old enough to know that it would soon pass, that summer would come around again, but it was impossible not to imagine that everything would shrivel up and die forever and D'Qar would become as frozen and dead as her homeworld. 

Paige would stand next to her in the doorway, rubbing her arm, watching green turn into white and brown. "Don't worry, Rosie," Paige said. "The warmth always comes back." 

**Commander** : "Congratulations, Commander Rose Tico." Leia offered one of her small, but genuine smiles.

Rose, though, couldn't stop a massive grin from breaking out. Rey, Finn, and Poe, her friends, cheered and clapped. But as she looked at the small crowd of Resistance fighters gathered around, she felt the responsibility settling on her. She was a commander now. She had to lead these people. And she silently promised them all that she would fight like hell to make sure no one lost their parent, child, lover. Sibling. She owed that to Paige. She owed it to herself.

**Porcelain/ivory/steel** : Their mother used to call Rose "porcelain" and Paige "ivory". Her two beautiful, precious treasures amidst a storm of dreary mining and harsh cold. But that all changed when the First Order came. When their parents died. And Rose and Paige died along with them and were reborn, hardened into steel. The steel of blasters and laserfire and starfighters. Steel that would be unyielding and unbreaking in the coming storms. 

**Separation** : Rose didn’t do well with separation. She loved hard and lost harder. After Paige...left, she could barely find the energy to keep living. But new people came into her life, helping fill the hole in her heart at least a little. But every time Rey, Poe, or Finn (especially Finn) left on a mission, fought in a battle, dropped off the grid, she couldn’t help worrying. Hoping, praying they would come back to her safely. 

**STEAM** : Rose shied away from the spotlight. She preferred to stay behind the scenes, moving through the nooks and crannies nobody ventured into, fixing the unnoticed and unappreciated parts for the hotshot pilots to have their glory. She was fine with staying nameless and faceless, a passing mention in the history of the galaxy, just another drop in the flood that would drown the First Order and a pebble in the rebuilt tower of the Republic. But fate, destiny, the Force? It would not let her. 

**Alternative timelines** : When the work got too exhausting, Rose would dream. Close her eyes and shut out the dull sky and gray mountains. She would dream of other times and other places. Maybe she could be the princess of a beautiful distant planet. Maybe she could be a valiant Jedi Master. Maybe she could be a noble smuggler helping the innocent. But eventually, she always had to open her eyes again. She was still little old Rose. Maybe that was okay. She tucked all the dreams and different Roses deep inside, where they warmed her heart on cold days. 

**Porgs** : There were a few things every child on Hays Minor dreamed of. One of them was animals. Fathiers with legs that carry them far away, tookas with warmth that wards off the cold, and convors with songs that quiet machines. 

As Rose drifted in and out of consciousness, the Falcon speeding away from Crait, porgs nested in her hair and her clothes. They cooed soft lullabies to their chicks and wrapped them in their warm wings. And in her dreams, they carried Rose away. 

**Women of the Resistance** : Rose never knew anyone could be so strong. She was in awe as Holdo streaked blazing white across the stars, as Rey unlocked her mystical ancient power, as Leia was always unflinching and unbreaking. 

Now, some counted Rose among their pantheon. Rose didn't know why, but her friends did. They saw that she was just as selfless, powerful, and persevering as anyone else, and her name would be legendary. 

**Free space** : Leia's eyes twinkled. "Welcome to the Resistance."

Rose quivered, unable to completely contain her excitement, and a quick glance at Paige confirmed she was feeling the same. Finally, she was part of something she believed in. Finally she could do some good. She would strike at the First Order, yes, but not out of hatred. Out of love, for the peaceful world her home used to be, for her lost parents, for everyone who lost their freedom under the First Order's boot. 

Her enemies would crumble under the force of her love. 

**Magic** : When neither Rose nor Rey could sleep, Rey would let Rose watch her practice the Force. It never ceased to amaze Rose, how Rey could use her mind to manipulate the energy of the universe, to move things without touching them and glimpse the future. It was just like Rose imagined the Jedi from the legends, those magical warriors of good. But Rey always modestly brushed off Rose's compliments. The Force was just Rey's own brand of magic. Everyone's magic was different, and everyone had a little. 

**History:** Not much information trickled out to Hays Minor, but what little there was was unsullied by the First Order. Rose grew up on stories of the mighty Republic, the valiant Rebellion, and the benevolent Jedi. These stories fueled her, giving her hope for freedom and justice. And when the time came for her to join the fight too, to become part of history, she knew she could have no hesitation. 

**Constellations** : Paige and Rose used to sneak out at night to lie on their backs and watch the stars. Rose would trace her favorite constellations with her finger, and Paige would tell her their names and how they got there. 

On the  _ Raddus _ , Rose looked out at the glittering stars, trying to find those constellations again. But once she was inside them, once Paige was no longer there to name them, everything seemed different. Unfamiliar. Rose didn't recognize the stars anymore. 

**Metropolitan** : As the lights and sounds of Canto Bight swirled around her, Rose couldn't help feeling a little amazed. It was everything she wanted as a child, endless fun and guaranteed luxury. 

But it didn't take long to find its rotten underbelly. These people created heaven for themselves by creating hell for others. How could evil give birth to good? But their time was coming. She would put her fist through this lousy, beautiful town. 

**Identity** : "Who are you?"

"Uh, Rose Tico? Resistance fighter--"

"No. I know what you are." Maz repeated her question. "But who are you?" 

Who was she? Rose was momentarily stunned into silence. She was a fighter. A lover. A dreamer. A loyal friend and a staunch ally. Someone who could never rest until all oppression was gone. Someone who would never tire of fighting evil. She was Rose Tico. 

**Revolve** : Moons revolved around planets, planets revolved around stars, stars revolved in galaxies. The universe, in an endless spin, constant change. Endless revolutions, from oppression to freedom and falling back into oppression. 

Sometimes, it seemed like the galaxy would never be free forever. But Rose didn't give up. She couldn't. As long as the planets spun, she would too, waiting out winter nights and fighting for summer days. 

**Armageddon** : Rose had seen firsthand what the First Order could do. Stark and frozen Hays Minor, with its own strange beauty, crumbling into a hellscape of craters and lava pools as the First Order drills stabbed into the mantle with their insatiable thirst for the blood of planets. When Rose left, she couldn't recognize the world. The sun would live for another few billion years, but the First Order had created an early apocalypse. Rose vowed that she would never watch a world die again. 

**Rose by any other name** : Rumors spread of the First Order's brainwashing tactics. How they could torture and manipulate you until you were a completely different person, until you would even kill your friends and family.

Somehow, Rose wasn't terribly worried. She knew that the First Order couldn't do anything that bad to her. Her spirit was untouchable and unbreakable. She would always return to the light and to love. A rose by any other name would smell just as sweet. 

**The Fountain** : Fountains were places of renewal and cleansing. Rey talked about the misty natural springs in Ahch-To's caves, where you could reach out and almost believe your fingertips brushed the Force itself. 

But Rose had seen her own fountains. Hays Minor's ice and crust melting into fountains of sulfurous, deadly lava. The First Order churning magma seas, searching for precious minerals to fuel the machinery of war. Some things didn't need renewing. 

**Western** : Rose's mission took her to some backwater called Arvala-7. A planet filled with bandits and pirates and a gruff Ugnaught called Kuiil, who didn't want to get wrapped up in the complicated war. 

But the First Order's shadow was spreading, and soon its tendrils began to curl around their deserts. Rose reminded them of how much they could lose, how bad the Empire was and how much worse the First Order could be. If there was one thing scum and villainy refused to do, it was listening to people trying to tell them what to do. Especially pretentious neofascists. Suddenly, Rose found herself with a lot of new, very intimidating allies. Those stormtroopers didn't stand a chance. 

**Memento** : Rose kept few things of her own. She was always ready to abandon everything and run with the Resistance. The two things she did keep were her medallion and her ring. They reminded her of the home and family she had lost, the hope for a freed future ahead, and the fire that burned within her still. But when the time came, she found that she was willing to give them to others. She was willing to let them grow beyond her, to pass through many hands, spreading their fiery, igniting spark of hope. 

**Impact:** Boom. Boom. Boom.

Each emerald laser blast slamming into the  _ Raddus's _ shields, blooming into flame.

Boom. Boom. Boom.

The untrained eye might think that there was no damage, they were fine, but Rose was a technician. She knew each blast ate away a little more of the Resistance.

Boom. Boom. Boom.

Each blast carved away a little more of their shields and a little more of her heart.

Boom. Boom. Boom. 

What was that law an ancient Jedi scientist had come up with? Every Force has an equal and opposite Force? Rose didn't know much about the Force, but she was sure gonna hit back hard.

BOOM. 

**Tea** : "Hey, how are you holding up? I know you just woke up yesterday."

Rose looked up at Rey standing next to her, holding two steaming mugs. She shrugged. "Trying to." Unable to say anymore, she waved her hand around, at the Falcon's cramped quarters and the meager Resistance left. Rey nodded; she understood. She passed a mug to Rose and Rose sipped from it. It was cheap tea, probably something Han had stocked up decades ago. But it was warm, and at that moment Rose didn't care if it was Coruscant's best. 

They both lapsed into silence, both with their own grief. Finally, Rose managed a smile and raised her mug. "To lost loves and new friends."

Laughing softly, Rey clinked her mug against Rose's. "To lost loves and new friends." 

**The ancient world** : The cool air of the temple inside was a welcome respite from D'Qar's hot, muggy jungles. Rose's flashlight danced along the old stone walls, seeking new hiding places for the Resistance. She found the remnants of a people that had disappeared long ago, leaving behind their art, stories, and dreams. Rose couldn't read the ancient script, but she could barely make out the peeling paintings: stories of good triumphing over evil and hope breaking through the darkness. Stories that continued today. Rose knew the Resistance couldn't be there. It held the sacred last breath of a civilization. But their spirits would continue to flow through the forest and through the Resistance out into the galaxy. 

**Canto Bight:** "Come on."

"No."

"Please? We'll stick out like a sore thumb." Finn held out the dress.

Rose groaned. "Fine. Only because it helps the mission." With Finn's back turned to give her some privacy, Rose slipped out of her drab fatigues and into the glittering golden gown. It was unlike anything she had ever worn: silky and slender. She jumped a little when Finn's fingers brushed her skin, zipping up the back. Finally, he carefully fastened her medallion around her neck. She caught a glimpse of herself in the gleaming silver wall, and she barely recognized herself.

"Come on." Finn pulled on his own formal jacket, grinning and holding out his hand. He led her out into whirling lights of Canto Bight. "It'll be fun." 

**Blasters N' Rose** : Troopers were screaming, flames falling from the sky, as the world crumbled around Rose. She stumbled on the slick floor and lunged for the blaster of a fallen stormtrooper. 

Suddenly, she realized that it was the first time she'd held a blaster. The weapon was heavy, weighted down by what it could do. But there was no time for sentimentality. Finn needed her. She raised the blaster and fired directly at Phasma's cold, silver heart.

**Harvest** : "What should we name your little sister?"

Paige thought long and hard. Her sister would be strong, of course. Determined. Loving. Hopeful. The first to break into the light. She glanced outside, where a few crimson blossoms dotted the rocks. The winter roses, Hays Minor's only native species, the flowers that pushed out of the ice and heralded coming spring. The harvest festival was coming, when the Haysians would pick the flowers and celebrate what little yet enough life the earth gave them. 

Paige picked one and ran to give it to her mother. She took it and smiled. "Perfect." Paige leaned and kissed her sister's forehead, leaving a whispered hope. Rose, who deserved to harvest much more than what the galaxy had to offer her. 

**Rebirth** : Finn tried to break out of the crowd, but it was impossibly dense. Suddenly, he saw a bright flash of orange fluttering in the breeze. A Resistance poster, with Rose's face emblazoned on it. 

Finn locked his gaze on it, letting it anchor him, until he finally found himself out of the crowd and looking up it. Her smile glowed like the sun, full of hopes and dreams and pain. Her eyes carried Hays Minor and Paige and Canto Bight's orphans. They all made up her path until she was here, the face of the Resistance, leading the rebirth of a freer, brighter galaxy.

Finn felt a hand on his arm. He turned, and there was Rose herself, just as beautiful and luminous as the poster. "Come on," she smiled. "Our friends are waiting. The Republic isn't going to restore itself." 


End file.
